Reaction Paper on Gay & Lesbian Clients
Jeanette Rios
The University of Texas at Arlington
As a social worker you have to encounter many different people that live within many different situations and surroundings. I want to be believed that I am a very understanding person and that I would not judge or have problems working with people that are different from me. I grew up pretty much in a normal family; with my mother, father, and brother. Both of my parents worked full time and my brother and I went to public school; we never got into any serious trouble. On the other hand, after high school graduation my life took some twist and turns. I had never thought about or realized how important values are to me. When I was younger for some reason I thought the only people who had values went to church probably because I never really understood what the definition of values really meant. Even though my family hardly ever went to church; now that I have my own family and have live life a little more I have realized that I do have values and realize the right from wrong. I also understand that what I might think is right might not be right for the person standing next to me.
Over the past years many things have changed and along with those changes our understanding of what is right from wrong has also changed. In a profession such as social work and counseling it is very important not to let your own personal values interfere with the client’s values. In the articles “The New Clash of Rights” and “Legal Loss for Anti-Gay Student;” both students involve in the articles refuse to counsel gay clients. The students that refuse to counsel gay clients were Julea Ward from Eastern Michigan University and Jennifer Keeton from Augusta State University. This poses a problem if you want to become a school counselor or any type of counselor because counselors have to obey the code of ethics in order to work in the profession. The code of ethics helps you guide...